Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
In the fall semester try to spend AS MUCH time as possible in your given placement. Get to know your cooperating teachers! Spend time after school talking with them and learning about their teaching philosophies and their "style". Talk with them about what they expect from you and what the student teaching experience will look like. Be open about all of these things and establish a plan. Also, get to know the students in the fall. They love it when you learn their names really quickly. You can develop personal bonds with them in your practicum that will make you job much easier in the spring. If they like you and respect you BEFORE you start student teaching than you are starting 5 steps in front of everyone else.
If possible, also ask your CT about where in the book they think they will be come February. If you have time, start planning! Start thinking about lessons and mini-labs, start preparing notes and/or powerpoints. This will definitely help you when you start student teaching because you won't need to reinvent the wheel every night before class. These suggestions will help make student teaching a little less stressful and more enjoyable.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
Definitely spend a lot of time on your unit plan. This assignment definitely helps you learn about what it takes to put together a "unit". You will need to make many of these during your student teaching experience and with experience they get easier and easier. I would also put a lot of effort into developing your teaching philosophy. Its good to just sit back for a moment and think about what "type" of teacher you want to be and how you want to run your classroom. With a firm grasp of who you are as a teacher it will be easier to manage your classrooms in the spring.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
I would have prepared notes/powerpoints for the chapters that I would be covering during student teaching. Therefore, I would have had these completed before even starting student teaching. This would have alleviated a big task from my to do list and I could have concentrated more on developing effective and engaging lessons and mini labs.
I would also have decided to not have 3 different preps. I taught 4 classes (3 different subjects) and thus had to prepare three different setps of things. With classes at URI and work on the weekends this was a heavy load throughout the semester. I think 4 classes with 2 preps or 3 classes with 2 preps would be a good/ manageable amount.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
Student teaching is a great experience that you will never forget! Enjoy it! Take the opportunity to grow as a teacher and learn from the more experienced teachers around you. Try out new strategies and reflect upon whether or not they work. Don't be afraid to take chances! This is the perfect time for you to experiment and figure out what works for you!
Also, don't be afraid to ask your CT for help! They are there for you and want to help you. If you are feeling burnt out and stressed ask them if they have plans that you can use. They are more than willing to help out.
Finally, make sure that everyone you meet and everyone you associate with at your student teaching placement (including your CT, students, administrators, janitors, etc) have a possible feeling about you. If everything goes well, your placement could end up being your place of future employment. If everyone is impressed with you it will be much easier for you to get a job there than for you to get a job elsewhere.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
In the fall semester try to spend AS MUCH time as possible in your given placement. Get to know your cooperating teachers! Spend time after school talking with them and learning about their teaching philosophies and their "style". Talk with them about what they expect from you and what the student teaching experience will look like. Be open about all of these things and establish a plan. Also, get to know the students in the fall. They love it when you learn their names really quickly. You can develop personal bonds with them in your practicum that will make you job much easier in the spring. If they like you and respect you BEFORE you start student teaching than you are starting 5 steps in front of everyone else.
If possible, also ask your CT about where in the book they think they will be come February. If you have time, start planning! Start thinking about lessons and mini-labs, start preparing notes and/or powerpoints. This will definitely help you when you start student teaching because you won't need to reinvent the wheel every night before class. These suggestions will help make student teaching a little less stressful and more enjoyable.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
Definitely spend a lot of time on your unit plan. This assignment definitely helps you learn about what it takes to put together a "unit". You will need to make many of these during your student teaching experience and with experience they get easier and easier. I would also put a lot of effort into developing your teaching philosophy. Its good to just sit back for a moment and think about what "type" of teacher you want to be and how you want to run your classroom. With a firm grasp of who you are as a teacher it will be easier to manage your classrooms in the spring.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
I would have prepared notes/powerpoints for the chapters that I would be covering during student teaching. Therefore, I would have had these completed before even starting student teaching. This would have alleviated a big task from my to do list and I could have concentrated more on developing effective and engaging lessons and mini labs.
I would also have decided to not have 3 different preps. I taught 4 classes (3 different subjects) and thus had to prepare three different setps of things. With classes at URI and work on the weekends this was a heavy load throughout the semester. I think 4 classes with 2 preps or 3 classes with 2 preps would be a good/ manageable amount.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
Student teaching is a great experience that you will never forget! Enjoy it! Take the opportunity to grow as a teacher and learn from the more experienced teachers around you. Try out new strategies and reflect upon whether or not they work. Don't be afraid to take chances! This is the perfect time for you to experiment and figure out what works for you!
Also, don't be afraid to ask your CT for help! They are there for you and want to help you. If you are feeling burnt out and stressed ask them if they have plans that you can use. They are more than willing to help out.
Finally, make sure that everyone you meet and everyone you associate with at your student teaching placement (including your CT, students, administrators, janitors, etc) have a possible feeling about you. If everything goes well, your placement could end up being your place of future employment. If everyone is impressed with you it will be much easier for you to get a job there than for you to get a job elsewhere.
Good luck!